Event Summary

864FC V Fight Recap

It was ON Saturday night at the Greenville Shrine Club as 864FC V lived up to ALL the hype!From the Curtain Jerker to the Main Event every single athlete left it all in the cage and represented their teams proudly.Let’s take a look back at the action:

We’ll start at the ending; our Main Event of the evening featured Blackzilians fighter Andrew “The Beast” Whitney and Gastonia’s Dylan Cala. These two didn’t take long to get going as Cala took the center of the cage engaging Whitney in a grappling exchange. This proved to be a good strategy for Cala as he bested Whitney in virtually every position and quickly established the lead in the opening round. The cagey, 21 fight veteran, Whitney avoiding any meaningful damage, worked his way back to his feet, and attempted to make up lost ground applying forward pressure looking to strike. Undaunted, Cala waded through the temporary fire of Whitney, pressed him against the cage and scored a double leg to end the first round!Round 2 looked like it was set to be more of the same as Cala immediately came across the cage on a Chael Sonnen-esque mission for a double leg. This time, however, Whitney made the adjustment and defended well – sending Cala backing to the center of the cage. In a temp of fate, Cala went back to the well once too often shooting from the outside right into a beautifully timed flying knee! Cala, hurt badly, looks for the clinch and some time to recover but in the process finds himself in a deep guillotine and forced to tap immediately! That wasn’t it for the action as Whitney evidently had the cardio to take on a second opponent, inviting Pitch Black talent, John Sweeney into the cage. In no uncertain terms Whitney made it clear that he’s itching for a bout agreement with Sweeney’s name on it!

Back to the beginning: the opener of the night was two great contests between some of the State’s best Scholastic Wrestlers! We saw an undersized David Hunsberger display amazing technique and skill besting AJ Dickerson in their exhibition style wrestling opener. Next the ladies took the spotlight, Alexandra Martinez vs Bella Hoffman in the second and final freestyle wrestling match of the night. Bella, only 13 years of age, stole the show with a seamless showing of ability, tenacity, dexterity ….wow, what a young talent! She cruised to a victory over a very tough Martinez who fought with heart in her own right.

Now to the fights! Jay Ponder and Jere Pearson got the night going and got it going they did! These young warriors met in the middle and let the leather fly. Ponder appeared to be the more seasoned striker landing flush and keeping himself in good positions though out the round. Pearson though, showed an amazing chin and chipped away with a series of counter leg kicks. Round one came to an end seeing Ponder the winner of the battle but Pearson the winner of the war – the tortoise won the race as the consistent leg kicks Pearson landed forced the corner of Ponder to call an end to the bout and leaving Jere Pearson with his hand raised in his amateur debut!

In our next bout the cage got a bit smaller as the Super Heavyweights made their way into the down the ramp! Chris “Lionheart” Miles squared off against Saul “Slaughterhouse” Hicks. As one would expect this one didn’t last long – Miles brought the heat straight out of the gate, overwhelming Hicks. Hicks showed heart, attempted to get back to a good position but eventually went down, gave his back and succumbed to viscous ground and pound at the hands of “Lionheart” Chris Miles.

Shades of Don Frye vs Takayama flashed through my mind as I watched Gabriel “Crazy Eye” Brown and Dakota “The Warning” Whitt collide in the next bout of the night. A mad opening, in the pocket, bite down and sling’em slugfest started this fight off right! Whitt established himself and pressured Brown to the cage where he secured the takedown. After an exchange on the ground, Brown rallied back to his feet where he was thanked for his effort with a huge slam at the hands of Whitt. Not a problem for Crazy Eye though as he tosses his legs up immediately, secures an arm bar and looks to take it home. A warrior, Whitt, looks for a way to stay in the fight, spiking Brown multiple times. Brown hung tough, maintained the position and took the fight via first round submission by Arm Bar!

Next Domo Brewer entered the cage looking to put a blemish on the unbeaten record of his opponent Revolution Martial Art’s own, Jordan Lawson.Grappling exchanges ensued after a brief period spent striking. Lawson appeared to have the advantage on the mat, dominating position. This fight looked to be a quick one when Lawson found his way to Brewer’s back, both hooks in, working hard for a choke! However, Brewer pulled through fighting hands, scrambling and finding his way back to his feet. Staying with what brought him to the dance, Lawson continues to press for the takedown leaving the remainder of this round spent working against the cage. If you went to the bathroom during the break between rounds one and two you may have wondered if they even took a break as the Lawson immediately shot and backed Brewer to the cage – again looking for a takedown. Brewer evidently made the adjustments necessary, though, scrambling to his feet, finally getting the striking exchange he’d been looking for and finishing Lawson with a barrage of strikes, earning a TKO in the second round.

The only ladies fight of the night was a great one! Crystal “The Lovely” Van Wyk took on “The Wolf Queen” Samantha Seff in a barn burner! A feeling out process soon gave way to forward movement from Van Wyk and sharp counters from Seff.As round 2 got under way it looked as if Samantha Seff had downloaded Van Wyk and had her number. Seff showed slick submission skills finding Van Wyk’s back and finishing her with a Rear Naked Choke!

It got “Dirty” in the next fight as Ernest “Dirty” Robinson got down to business with late notice challenger, David Carson. Carson, who has considerably less experience than Robinson, took the fight on 24 hours notice and already had another fight booked in September!That’s an attitude you have to love – especially given the issues the card experienced on weigh in day. Looking to press early, Robinson drove Carson to the cage. Carson lands a hard knee to the body, reversed the position and hit the mat in side control over Robinson. Avoiding an Arm Bar, Robinson gets to the top position and the round ends. The second round started off with a bang as Robinson landed a flush lead cross and follow up uppercut! It was Carson, though that would capitalize on the resulting takedown from Robinson, scrambling from guard and sinking in a fight ending Arm Bar from the bottom – winning the bet he made on himself he’d made only 24 hours before and walking away with the 864FC Amateur Welterweight Title!

Bailey Cooper and Lajuan Davis, remember the names, these boys come to fight!Cooper, employing the Scoggins/Thompson/Northcutt Karate style stance leads with several very nice Sidekicks – looking to maintain his range against the very athletic and mobile Davis. Davis wouldn’t be deterred though, getting in Cooper’s face and landing two consecutive crosses that separated Cooper from his mouthpiece. These two exchange constantly the entire fight, Davis getting the better of it and seemingly frustrating Cooper who didn’t appear comfortable at close range. After some confusion and indecisive refereeing regarding a potential low blow Davis found the off switch and finished Cooper via TKO to claim the 864FC Amateur Middleweight Title!

In a Lightweight Amateur Title contest Michael Fortner faced off against Jose Majano. The story of most of this fight was the grappling pedigree of Fortner. Working from the top much of the contest, he found his mark in the third round getting to the back of Majano where he ended the fight with a Rear Naked Choke. Fortner takes to the mike, calling out Stephen Wylie!

Now on to the Pro Bouts! Leading the way were ATT’s Cody Durden and Todd “The Matrix” Monroe. It was a short night for the Atlanta bred Durden as he found the top position and finished Monroe in the opening round via nasty ground and pound!

Next it was Coconut Creek, Florida’s Caleb Williams set to do battle with “Nasty” Nathan Williams. The two start off doing what they came to do: Meeting in the middle and showcasing their skills! Caleb establishes his pace, moving forward, mixing up his attack. Nathan maintained his range, scoring while going backwards and giving Caleb something to think about when he advanced. The two grappled, scrambled and pushed each other skillfully throughout the round. In the second each fought very well; feinting, moving and landing on the other. They take this fight the distance in a very evenly matched contest that really was a great testament to the development and future of the sport! At the end of the day, the judges saw this one two rounds to one for NASTY Nathan Williams. Great fight.

Flyweights took the stage in the next fight of the night. Anthony Canzano looked to improve to 2-0 against Cleveland’s Brian “Doogie” Hauser – already the title holder in the “Best Nickname” division.This was a three round battle for advancement that was, no doubt great experience for both of these young warriors. Revolution’s Canzano looked light on his feet, employed great movement sharp boxing and showed his grappling ability looking for several submissions during the fight. Hauser held his own, landing several flush shots and proving he was nothing to be trifled with on the ground, actually finishing this fight in full mount over Canzano. In the end, however, all three judges saw this fight for Anthony Canzano who kept his unbeaten streak alive!

Rounding out the prelims, fighting at a 160lb Catch Weight, Nikolas Motta and Joe Solecki were pitted to send us to the Main Event in style! Solecki came in to tonight with a highly touted grappling pedigree and looked to put it to use early and often against the durable and patient Rio de Janeiro native, Motta. For the better part of three grueling rounds Solecki was glued to Motta looking relentlessly for an opening from which to apply a submission. The Ricardo Almeida trained Motta (Renen Barao in tow) persevered and finally forced a stand up exchange in round three. After defending a winded takedown attempt from Solecki, Motta locked in on the chin of Solecki with a BIG 1-2 combination and put him to sleep!

Another highly anticipated event by 864FC that did not disappoint! This is just the type of momentum the promotion and fighters were looking for heading into August’s Columbia event! The card is still shaping up – however we will have backgrounds and bios available as soon possible – until then Fight Fans!